Statement
by pyrat-xo
Summary: It's just one sentence. KamakirixLaki, KamakirixWiper, LuccixKaku.
1. Chapter 1

Just 1sentence stuff for One Piece.

**#01 - Motion**

She's so jealous of the way he walks; fast but calm, charged with energy and confidence, but most of all, unwavering determination.

**#02 - Cool**

Kamakiri's arms are fast and strong; his hands are always warm, but everything else about him is cool.

**#03 - Young**

He's fifteen and clutching his arm, gasping for air through tears and clenched teeth after Braham had set his dislocated shoulder; Laki thinks Kamakiri shouldn't have been old enough to still think about trying to grin and reassure her that yeah, he was just fine.

**#04 - Last**

Laki's always at the head of the group with Wiper and Braham; Kamakiri's often last, to make sure no one gets left behind.

**#05 - Wrong**

"You know I'm right," Kamakiri teased, slinging an arm over Laki's shoulder and squeezing affectionately.

**#06 - Gentle**

For someone who spends so much time impaling people on the ends of spears and frying them to a crisp, Kamakiri is surprisingly gentle when he helps to bandage Laki's arm (maybe because it was so different from having to _hold Wiper down_ to get anything done).

**#07 - One**

Of all the whetstones in camp, Kamakiri only uses the one he always keeps with him-- the one Laki had thrown at his head a few years ago before a battle-- and every time he does, all Kamakiri can think about is defending his precious village.

**#08 - Thousand**

Kamakiri's got a thousand little scraps of things he's collected over the years, including an old ragdoll he'd taken from Laki when they were little for breaking his favorite toy spear; one doll he swore he'd never give back, and hasn't yet.

**#09 - King**

Wiper sits on his seat like a king on his throne and Kamakiri's eyes are locked on his friend's face, colored with loyalty and conviction but his arm is around her shoulders and for Laki, that's just as good.

**#10 - Learn**

She's watching him handle the spear, only half-listening to his explanation (the other warriors were so distracting when they practiced, but Laki's sure she has the same effect one them); she asks him to show her again.

**#11 - Blur**

His arms are around her shoulders and the world blurs as her eyes fill with tears; but it's his hold tightening and his voice whispering, "Laki, Laki, Laki," that keeps her from saying anything.

**#12 - Wait**

Kamakiri has never waited for her, always sure that she could catch up easily enough, and Laki hasn't disappointed him yet.

**#13 - Change**

'Nothing's changed', Laki thinks as she watches Kamakiri wrap an arm around Baham's neck and drag him down into an affectionately vicious headlock; except for this, she amends as he saunters over and does the same to her.

**#14 - Command**

"Now," and it's the Language of the Powerful or something, because Laki doesn't understand Wiper, but Kamakiri obviously does as he grabs her by the shoulder, shoves her out the tent and clashes with their leader, spear in his hand and a grin on his face.

**#15 - Hold**

Laki thinks Kamakiri is selfish for letting everyone watch him hurt the way he does; Kamakiri tells her that he won't let anyone get to his precious friends as long as he could still hold a weapon.

**#16 - Need**

Kamakiri doesn't _need _anything or anyone, and Laki doesn't either, but when he tells her to stay behind this time, Laki, pleasepleaseplease, I don't want you to get hurt, she can't breathe for a moment, and he's walking away the next.

**#17 - Vision**

The entire world is red to him; that's okay, because it's his favorite color, but sometimes Kamakiri takes off his shades and grins at the green in the leaves and the blue of the sky, the white of the ocean and the dark, untainted black of Laki's hair.

**#18 - Attention**

He's not loud and he's not particularly noticeable, but Laki's eyes are always drawn to the entrance as soon as Kamakiri enters a room.

**#19 - Soul**

Bright like the sun but twice as unpredictable; it's all Laki can do to keep up with them.

**#20 - Picture**

Just before the chief snapped their picture with the dial, Kamakiri had jabbed Laki cheerfully in the side and commented afterwards that her expression was absolutely... pricelss.

**#21 - Fool**

Laki elbows him in the ribs and calls him an idiot; Kamakiri takes it with a grin and nudges her none-too-gently off the edge into the ocean clouds.

**#22 - Mad**

Kamakiri makes sure that dealing with Laki doesn't become a habit; it's frustrating and annoying and when she says one thing, she usually means another.

**#23 - Child**

"Laki, get it off me!" Kamakiri shouted, trying to pry Aisa off from where she had latched onto his waist after he had saved her from the skyshark.

**#24 - Now**

It's hard to think about the future when you don't even know whether or not you'll live to see tomorrow and it's hard to think of the past after all you've been through, but now is fine and now is friends-who-are-closer-than-family.

**#25 - Shadow**

They fight in the shadows and skirt along the edge of the woods; Kamakiri drags Laki into the ocean clouds just as the tree behind her explodes in a shower of sparks.

**#26 - Goodbye**

Kamakiri leans in close, a half-smile on his lips, "I loved you, a long time ago," and that was all and he was gone, running like the wind in Wiper's shadow to protect his village.

**#27 - Hide**

As a rule, Laki doesn't cry much but when Kamakiri kneels down and gently closes the eyes of their old friend, she finds that breaking that rule is OK sometimes, because he's doing the same thing.

**#28 - Fortune**

Laki has always depended on herself and her skills, her friends and logic; Kamkiri liked to leave it to luck.

**#29 - Safe**

They had been young and those memories shine like the sun in his heart, protected by the impenetrable wall of his mind.

**#30 - Ghost**

The lightest touch against Laki's arm sends her whirling in circles, searching for a face that she hasn't seen in months and sighs when she realizes it was only her imagination, after all.

**#31 - Book**

Laki's surprised to see Kamakiri reading, but when she sits down next to him and realizes that he's not really reading-- just staring into the page, she smiles and nudges him awake.

**#32 - Eye**

Laki thinks it's a little shameful that Kamakiri knows exactly what makes her tick, can make her smile, can put her in hysterics almost effortlessly; but then again, she doesn't notice the way he watches her almost carefully when she laughs and she doesn't notice the way he always grins along.

**#33 - Never**

Kamakiri groaned as he glanced at the fish she was roasting over the fire; "Laki, those aren't even edible!"

**#34 - Sing**

Kamakiri rarely sings but when he does his voice is a calm, resonant hum; Laki could fall asleep to it, but she'd much rather listen.

**#35 - Sudden**

"Laki," and his hands are on her shoulder and his mouth is by her ear, "it's almost time; don't die, okay?"

**#36 - Stop**

He throws out an arm and stops her in her tracks just as Wiper's Burn Bazooka blazes a path two inches from their faces and he shouts a belated warning from somewhere behind a tree; "Watch the hell out, fuckin' idiots!"

**#37 - Time**

If Kamakiri could stop time, he'd stop it right -now-, right when Laki was grinning and pulling the three of them into a tight, ecstatic hug, right when Braham was blushing for the first time -ever- because what the hell, since when was Laki a chick and Genbou was laughing like hell and Wiper was trying not to look as awkward as he felt.

**#38 - Wash**

It takes a long time to get rid of the blood seeping into the leather and dials of his 'board, but Kamakiri knows that even the deepest stains'll wash out eventually; in the meantime, he could use them to freak Laki out.

**#39 - Torn**

When Wiper's calling for Kamakiri to _get the hell to the front_ and he's worried about Laki getting clocked over the head by a guy twice her size, he shrugs and runs towards Wiper's voice when she viciously jabs the guy behind her in the gut with the butt of her rifle.

**#40 - History**

Kamakiri is, as a rule, _always_ on Laki's bad side; no one remembers a time when they weren't squabbling or arguing or teasing and everyone knows Kamakiri goes easier on Laki than he does the other guys, but no one's ever seen him bring down another girl and hold her down by cramming a knee into her back, either.

**#41 - Power**

For a second, his arm is around her waist and she can feel the muscles in his powerful arms tensing and twitching with contained energy and panic-- and then all she can feel is slick and warm and all she can see is red, red, red.

**#42 - Bother**

He complains when he helps, but she never asks for it.

**#43 - God**

God was just the man they've come to respect over the weeks and months he's worked so closely with them and God was just the title of the man the straw-hat brat had toppled from his perch; Kamakiri believes in no one but himself and his friends, and Laki's recently decided to follow his example.

**#44 - Wall**

The wall had broken under Kamakiri's clenched fist, cracks spreading in a web before he turned around and walked away; Laki, some distance away, winced as she caught sight of the poor idiot dumb enough to piss Kamakiri off.

**#45 - Naked**

Kamakiri takes off his tinted shades and for the second time, Laki can see his eyes; but this time she sees them wide and alert, brimming with energy and determination and optimism and sees the reflection of all things fun in the world; subsequently understands why he wears shades all the time (to avoid giving people heart attacks every time he grinned-- Wiper isn't even immune), and especially why he had been notoriously charming among the adults, especially when they were kids.

**#46 - Drive**

She wouldn't be moving forward at all if not for the friends constantly pushing at her back and the words he whispers in her ear.

**#47 - Harm**

Kamakiri doesn't mind getting hurt occasionally as long as his friends were okay, but he still complains that Laki gets into the most trouble out of all of them.

**#48 - Precious**

It's when Kamakiri smiles that Laki can forget he's the second-strongest warrior in Skypiea and it's then that she can forget all their obligations and enjoy his company, even if it's only for a little while.

**#49 - Hunger**

Genbou eats quickly but cleanly, taking time to savor the flavors as well as stuff his face; Wiper, like it's a punishment, always thinking about his battles and the legends and Braham doesn't eat often but scarfs a lot down when he does; Kamakiri cooks most of the time, having learned to do so after finding out Wiper refused to think about stuff like that, and it's Laki who coaxes everyone to sit in a circle to eat together.

**#50 - Believe**

Laki hadn't believed that Kamakiri got around as much as the other girls said (the most mention anyone else had made of it was that the girls in camp would flush red and come to talk to him every time he was alone), but with Kamakiri's fingers drawing slow, hynoptic circles on the small of her back and the other hand pressed against the back of her head and his lips and tongue traveling leisurely over her neck, she thinks maybe those rumors had something to them, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Kamakiri x Wiper

"...something about woeful determined heroes always needing a damn drama fix.

**1. Ring**

They form a circle to hear Wiper speak, but it's Kamakiri-- who never pays attention and is always slacking off-- who listens the hardest.

**2. Hero**

Kamakiri knows that Wiper has an immense amount of respect for the straw-hat kid now, and maybe he does, too, but it's his leader he had wanted warn first, not Luffy, 'cause he'd always thought that Wiper would be the one to take out Enel.

**3. Memory**

All the memories Kamakiri has of Wiper when they were younger are burning hot; filled with passion and ambition, weeks upon weeks of training with no one but each other for company, and when they returned to camp, the two of them had gotten so used to each other that Kamakiri never even had to turn around to know when Wiper entered a tent.

**4. Box**

As kids, they used to collect what Vearth was shot up into little boxes, then pool it together into a bigger one; Kamakiri and Wiper always worked together but usually got too lost to find their way back in time.

**5. Run**

A pillar of lightning descends from the clouds on one of their patrols; Kamakiri has an arm around Wiper's neck, dragging him away from Upper Yard as fast as his 'board could go while his friend shouted defiance to the sky.

**6. Hurricane**

They don't have storms above the clouds, but Kamakiri and Wiper sometimes turn stupid and head for the swirling vortexes of power for a closer look while the ocean below was thrashed by a hurricane.

**7. Wings**

They can't really move their wings, and none of the skypieans can fly, but as Kamakiri and Wiper once discovered after a fight and a short grappling match on the ocean clouds, it was much easier to not fall through to the Blue Sea if you did have them.

**8. Cold**

It's when the two of them are sitting as far from each other as humanly possible while still trying to leech warmth that Kamakiri comes up with the Burn Blade (what if we set some gas that shoots out of the breath dial on fire) and Wiper immediately builds that idea into a bazooka; they both take it as a signal to move a little closer.

**9. Red**

For the moment, Wiper's so high on fury all he can see is red as all the blood rushes to his head and he hears Genbou collapse into a heap behind him; Kamakiri's fist socking him gently on the arm (too tired to whack him over the head with a spear like he usually does) and his voice telling Wiper to calm the hell down before doing something suicidal is what brings him back.

**10. Drink**

Braham thinks that for such skinny guys, Wiper and Kamakiri can hold their liquor as well as, if not better than anyone else, but the navigator girl had them both beat in his mind when he realized that Kamakiri had passed out a while ago and Wiper was close to it after stepping in to avenge his friend (come on, I've already drunk a lot, but if you insist Wiper-_san_).

**11. Midnight**

Staying up late after everyone had gone to sleep and a round of scary stories (that had Genbou choking on the skyshark he was trying to eat with Laki making strangled noises when the stories got too graphic and Braham snorting beer none of them were supposed to be drinking through his nose while threatening to shove his head into the fire out of sheer paranoia induced by the horror legends), Kamakiri added more wood to the fire and plopped down on the cloud bench with a wicked grin to tell Wiper more.

**12. Temptation**

Kamakiri throws an arm over Wiper's shoulders for a quick one-armed hug, reminding himself that he shouldn't hit the guy too hard until he recovered completely from using the reject dial so many times.

**13. View**

When Laki tried to interfere with Kamakiri's fight, Wiper held her back while his friend got pummeled into the ground for all of two minutes before scoring a single, perfect hit; Wiper watches Kamakiri's retreating back as he runs to split up what was developing into a fight between a Skypiean and Laki, fearful that the fruity punk would get his jaw broken and that would get Gan Fall (and, consequently, the chief) pissed at them.

**14. Music**

Laki thinks that it's a shame Kamakiri and Wiper had become warriors; at night, around the fire, they'd sometimes sing quietly to themselves and really, Laki thought, the two of them had great voices.

**15. Silk**

"So you weren't--nn, lying when you said you could-- give great massages," Wiper groaned as Kamakiri pressed the tension out of his shoulders, marvelling at the thought that despite having scarred and torn up hands, Kamakiri's could probably sew and cook and embroider and other girly stuff better than Laki could.

**16. Cover**

"Put--me--down!" Kamakiri hissed as Wiper half carried, half dragged him behind a tree, a fold of cloth pressed tightly against his bleeding shoulder; Wiper ignored his indignant, "I can still fight, goddamn you," and pulled over a cluster of bushes to temporarily hide their presence.

**17. Promise**

"Whatever happens, I'll be right here."

**18. Dream**

Wiper dreams of Upper Yard crashing back down to the blue sea and he dreams of Great Warrior Calgara finally meeting with Mont.. Montblanc Norland of Lvneel, but above all his dreams, he wants to show Kamakiri that if he was going to die for the sake of a story, people long gone, then at least he should understand why.

**19. Candle**

"Don't worry about it; I'll just light up a big fire that you'll be able to see from anywhere, so you can always find your way back."

**20. Talent**

It's always been Kamakiri who strolled along thin, precarious branches with the balance of a skyfox and the grace of a monkey to retrieve items lost up a tree and whenever he falls, it's always Wiper he lands on.

**21. Silence**

"We're all gonna die," Wiper mutters after sending his warriors to prepare for the great battle; Kamakiri gives him an annoyed look and doesn't say anything, silently reassuring his friend that he would die for their gods and their ancestors and their holy land, but he fights because Wiper had asked him to.

**22. Journey**

The distance from their camp to Upper Yard isn't all that big, but between their quiet, rushed discussions and reassurances, it feels like four hundred years.

**23. Fire**

Kamakiri doesn't care about new, genius innovations that could make something bigger, fancier and cooler-looking, but he doesn't mind helping Wiper build his bazooka into something big and fancy and cool, either.

**24. Strength**

"We have the fighters, the weapons, the skill, to defeat Enel and his priests; they're strong but so are we, once we break through his front line, we'll be able to defeat Enel once and for all, but I need your strength the most."

**25. Mask**

Wiper pulls on his ceremonial mask and throws one to Kamakiri, who tosses it over his shoulder and steps onto his 'board, saying something about woeful determined heroes always needing a damn drama fix.

**26. Ice**

Wiper slips on the edge of the ocean clouds, crashing through the thin layer ice to the white sea; Kamakiri pulls him up almost as soon as he gets drenched, laughing his ass off while handing Wiper a blanket.

**27. Fall**

As the end of Wiper's too-long hair caught on fire and Braham dumped a bucket of water over his head to put it out, Kamakiri slipped off the cloud log, laughing too hard at Wiper's expression to say anything.

**28. Forgotten**

"Everyone'll remember the Great Shandian Warrior Wiper and Straw-Hat Luffy," Braham had said, _(and forget all the others)_, Kamakiri didn't add.

**29. Dance**

They leave dancing to the women, but the competition afterwards between warriors always feature Wiper and Kamakiri as finalists, a clash between best friends for the ultimate honor; Wiper's ahead in wins and they've had a couple ties, but everyone agrees that Kamakiri puts on the better show.

**30. Body**

After a long, hard day of training and sparring Kamakiri, sore and hungry, sits in front of their campfire and comments that Wiper gets to hunt for dinner because he didn't spend the day whipping the new fighters into shape.

**31. Sacred**

Wiper has no gods and the only ancestor he worships is the Great Warrior Calgara; it's Kamakiri who has to pray enough for both of them whenever a patrol around Upper Yard goes wrong.

**32. Farewells**

"Let's go," Wiper says, but turns around when Kamakiri bumps into him, elbowing Wiper hard in the ribs and swinging a spear over his own shoulder before starting up just-polished dial skates and disappearing into the closely packed trees of Upper Yard.

**33. World**

Their world is so small: all they have is a gigantic cloud to live on and a dream to follow, but Kamakiri thinks that if it were any bigger, then Wiper would leave the rest of them too far behind to ever be able to catch up again.

**34. Formal**

Wiper has an arm wrapped around Kamakiri's chest, holding him down like the chief had asked him to when his friend was getting his tattoos (that Kamakiri had WANTED until he saw the needles, commenting that he was speared too much every day to ever wanna have it done intentionally).

**35. Fever**

Wiper's one of those stupidly strong guys who're too dense to ever get sick, and Kamakiri is jealous for a while until he realizes that the only reason he's been able to sleep this long uninterrupted is because Wiper was guarding the entrance to his tent.

**36. Laugh**

Although Kamakiri knows that Wiper is strong and reckless, so he should be calm and serious, he can't help but feel that he has to enough laugh for the both of them.

**37. Lies**

There are lies: "We'll be all right," "You'll be back soon," "I promise," "I'm a warrior; that's the only reason",

and there are truths, which are usually longer and more complicated: "I'll do my best," "We'll definitely win, because we have the pride of our ancestors and the blessing of our gods," "I can't promise anything, but," "I want your approval so badly it hurts," "I'm a warrior, but I could have been something else; the reason I fight is so that I can stay with you."

**38. Forever**

It might not be forever, but Kamakiri wants to stick around as long as he can.

**39.Overwhelming**

When Kamakiri sees Heaven's Judgement, he always has an overwhelming urge to collapse to his knees and pray, but Wiper always catches him and holds him up until his legs aren't quite so weak.

**40. Whisper**

"Iwannaprotectallofyou," Wiper mutters too quietly for his friends to hear.

**41. Wait**

It doesn't take long for Wiper to catch up to Kamakiri on the dial board his friend was trying to teach him, but all the same, he was happy the guy had waited.

**42. Talk**

Wiper isn't used to having long and meaningful conversations, preferring to listen to legends from the chief, stories circulating around his friends and watching Kamakiri seethe and worry and henpeck over all their friends and extended family.

**43. Search**

One of the new kids knew he had pissed off Kamakiri when Wiper stormed into the camp, worked into a rage and looking for something to take it out on and Kamakiri wasn't immediately turning him around by the shoulders and dragging him someplace far away from their village to vent.

**44. Hope**

Kamakiri isn't willing to die for the sake of his own dream, but he doesn't stop to wonder why he would for Wiper's.

**45. Eclipse**

Kamakiri was the only one who, through the cracked lenses of his shades, could stare straight into the dark, swirling currents in Enel's great ball of electricity that blocked out the sun and illuminated the sky, thinking that Wiper may have gotten the warning too late-- or not at all.

**46. Gravity**

Gravity hated people with a purpose the most, Kamakiri thought bitterly to himself as he hung by a hand off the edge of a cliff, dial skates dangling from a branch several feet down; but, he consoled himself, Wiper wouldn't laugh since the exact same thing had happened to _him_ just last week.

**47. Highway**

They use milky dials to set out long, smooth stretches of cloud on which to race; the roads sometimes bent into such ridiculous shapes that no one but Kamakiri and Wiper, who had dared each other, would take on.

**48. Unknown**

The others are a little scared of the dark forest (especially at night), but as long as Kamakiri knows Wiper's leading the way, he's sure that they'll all be fine.

**49. Lock**

With Braham holding Laki still, Kamakiri with a hercules beetle in each hand moves to put them on her face until Wiper hits him across the back of the head and crushes the beetles underfoot.

**50. Breathe**

It's the first time they've ever been so close to each other, but it feels all right because all Kamakiri can think about is their victory and the burnt, hurting idiot in his arms, that it was hard to breath because Wiper's were wrapped so tightly around his neck, and that they really needed a medic; in the meantime, he's got his lips pressed to Wiper's forehead and warm, happy tears dripping down his chest from where his friend was sobbing all the pain and suffering of the twenty years that mattered into his neck (and he thinks that for someone so strong, it's about time Wiper let it all go and finally used the shoulder-to-cry-on he'd been silently offering for years).

/lj-cut 


	3. Chapter 3

Kaku x Lucci!

XO

#01 - Air

It's his first time in Water7 and just seeing the buildings and roads and cliffs and walls makes Kaku's heart pound with anticipation and his breath come just a little quicker; he's off to explore as soon as Lucci dismisses them.

#02 - Apples

"Do you ever regret it," Lucci had asked, genuinely curious 'cause he never has, never will; Kaku's face hardens out of its usual cheery smile and he said firmly, crisply, sweetly-- "No."

#03 - Beginning

It was the first time that Lucci and Jabura had laid eyes on each other that Kaku became a pro in breaking up fights; he's thankful for it now as he hauls Paulie backwards and Blueno carefully places himself between Franky and the Galley-La foremen.

#04 - Bugs

Slapping at his arm with an exasperated scowl, Kaku walks a little faster to get out of the cloud of insects currently assaulting them; he runs straight into the back of Lucci's head, who immediately grabs him by the collar and propels him forward.

#05 - Coffee

It's morning and they're gathered around the table in the kitchen for breakfast; Jabura gags as he sees Kaku and Lucci drinking coffee black ("what the hell, that stuff's way too bitter!").

#06 - Dark

Out of all of them, it's only Lucci who can see in the dark and Kaku's the only one who knows how to operate the controls to the lights of Enies Lobby, so Lucci leads the way to the basement and Kaku follows close behind.

#07 - Despair

"What's wrong?" Lucci had asked in a rare show of concern as Kaku slid down the wall to sit; "Everything."

#08 - Doors

"So do something about it," Lucci replied matter-of-factly, hauling Kaku to his feet and shoving him out the door.

#09 - Drink

The red won't disappear completely, no matter how much he washes his hands (Spandam said it was something the government shrink liked to talk about but no one paid attention to), but Lucci knows this and hands Kaku a pair of gloves.

#10 - Duty

It isn't particularly fun and he doesn't like it much, but Kaku thinks assassination is all right as long as there's company.

#11 - Earth

It's not that Kaku wouldn't like to travel even more, having already been to the majority of the islands on the Grand Line, but it's that Lucci's told him time and time again that the world was a gigantic ocean made up of tiny, meaningless, insignificant islands and it was too much trouble.

#12 - End

It's the end of the line and Kaku doesn't think he can go any further, but it's Lucci, who elbows him hard in the ribs, that doesn't let him stop; so they keep on walking.

#13 - Fall

It's looking into his dark, expressionless eyes that pulls the ground out from under Kaku's feet and reminds him why he takes orders from this man, and this man alone.

#14 - Fire

They've got almost the entire building rigged with explosives; Lucci hands Kaku a matchbook.

#15 - Flexible

It's probably got something to do with cats, but Kaku's surprised as hell when Lucci arches up against him; he scrambles for words until Lucci hisses that if he says one word to give away their location, he was gonna get his ass kicked from Enies Lobby to Mariejoie; I just don't want a fucking broomstick rammed up my ass, okay?

#16 - Flying

It's falling, for a long long time with the wind in your face and the ground rushing up to meet you; and it's when you're fighting back to back and he nods his approval, only this time it's your mind and not your body that soars.

#17 - Food

Lucci enjoys meat more than anything else, and Kaku likes vegetables; they both balk when Blueno, knowing this, snapped that he was going to make them pay double if they don't finish everything, teammates or not.

#18 - Foot

Sparring with Lucci always ends in pain, sweat and usually blood but it's fun before the fight gets that far, Kaku thinks as Lucci catches his leg mid-kick and throws him off.

#19 - Grave

Lucci has the corpse by its collar and Kaku's digging a neat, rectangular hole in the ground after having pulled up a section of grass; the excess dirt was to be packed down hard afterwards and the grass replaced and no one would ever know.

#20 - Green

Kaku's too desensitized to all the violence and murder that came with his job to even bat an eye at what Lucci's currently doing to their prisoner, from whom they were trying to extract information, but he sees Califa's face take on a curious shade of green as she quickly leaves the room.

#21 - Head

Following Lucci, Kaku can easily imagine the scars on his back-- he's seen them enough, after all; it's not exactly like following the government flag, but it's close enough.

#22 - Hollow

Lucci's foot connects with his chest with a hollow thump, and Kaku spends the next thirty seconds trying to remember how to breathe.

#23 - Honor

They don't take bullets for each other, both too in love with life and the thrill of blood on their hands to give it up for a single person, but they do make sure to shout warnings.

#24 - Hope

It's the scars on Lucci's back, not the government flag, that gives Kaku hope but he figures they both add up to the same thing anyway.

#25 - Light

Kaku's been living in Lucci's shadow for most of his life, but if stepping into the light means abandoning the man he's come to respect and admire, he'd rather stay in the dark.

#26 - Lost

Sometimes, when it gets dark and cold and Kaku can't see anything, all he has to do is look around for Lucci's freakishly glowy eyes and then he's not so lost anymore.

#27 - Metal

Whenever Kaku breaks out his swords, Lucci knows that bloodshed comes next; not as much as the kind he himself causes, but enough to be vaguely impressive.

#28 - New

They'd been young and fresh; they're not so fresh anymore, but still young and still ready to kick the world's ass.

#29 - Old

Lucci's always been the most mature; Jabura, strangely, the most rational; Kaku's always done all he could for them both, but he always backs Lucci when they fight.

#30 - Peace

Lucci doesn't tell Kaku that he cares (he doesn't really care about anything) and Kaku doesn't tell Lucci that he respects him (he's too experienced to not know that respect was a front put up only for the sake of rank), but both of them think that the other is good company.

#31 - Poison

They say his words are poison and his looks are fake; they're not, really, it's just that all those promises and words seem inconsequential when Lucci tells him to break them.

#32 - Pretty

Neither of them are pretty in any sense of the word, but Lucci is handsome and dangerous and a bomb wrapped in silk; Kaku is cute, equally dangerous and blades wrapped in cotton.

#33 - Rain

Jyabura has commented repeatedly that wet cats smell worse than wet dogs, but Kaku's inclined to disagree, because he's smelled Jabura in wolf-form after a storm plenty of times but Lucci's too smart to get caught in the rain.

#34 - Regret

Before CP9, there'd been plenty of things Kaku regretted doing; after meeting Lucci, he decided to just forget all that and live like he wanted to and other people expected him to; to him, it was all the same.

#35 - Roses

They grew up almost together; Lucci was years older, but Kaku was a fast learner.

#36 - Secret

They've killed almost thousand people between them; no one knows they keep count, but they do, and always "between the two of us" because where Kaku was, Lucci was apt to be and Lucci is a bloodthirsty, kill-stealing bastard.

#37 - Snakes

Another snake drops from the canopy of the forest and Lucci snatches it out of the air by its neck and head, easily crushing it before tossing it aside; Kaku, behind him, swears as the serpent narrowly misses his nose.

#38 - Snow

Lucci's glares are cold as ice; Kaku's smiles are soft as snow and about as cool; there's no warmth in either of them, but that doesn't show in Kaku and no one cares that they can't see it in Lucci.

#39 - Solid

Most of their sparring involves trying to break each other's Tekkai; Kaku stumbles and falters when Lucci deals his second-strongest kick, but when he finds that his ribs aren't broken and he can still breathe, Lucci nods his approval and backs up to really kick his ass.

#40 - Spring

It isn't rare to see Kaku sprinting down a hallway to launch fullspeed out of an open window and across the gap between the towers of Enies Lobby, holding off on Geppou as long as possible, and not rare, either, to see Lucci glancing after him, never smiling but always close.

#41 - Stable

Kaku, Blueno and Califa are rocks in the mess that is Lucci and Jabura in the same room; they don't get caught up like Fukurou and Kumadori, but Kaku always seems to enjoy it the most.

#42 - Strange

Lucci had thought Kaku was too happy and nice to work with CP9; Kaku had thought Lucci was a sick and twisted fucker; turns out they were both right, but neither mind.

#43 - Summer

It's his favorite season; Kaku thinks it's great when the sun shines so bright it reflects off the surface of the water and makes him squint; Lucci likes the way sweat just evaporates and leaves him feeling cool and refreshed, though he'd never say it out loud.

#44 - Taboo

No one's allowed to make fun of Lucci and his transformations (kitty cat!); no one's allowed to tease Kaku for being hypocritical (why do you act like that, why do do that, when you can be so much more), but he doesn't mind general teasing; Kaku would kick your ass if you talked trash about Lucci (unless you were Jabura, in which case he'd try to talk you out of it before Lucci hears and then breaks your face and just so everyone knows, Lucci punches harder than Kaku can kick).

#45 - Ugly

There are scars lancing over his neck, legs, arms and shoulders (scars on the back are a swordsman's shame), a long jagged one across his chest, and he's always loved the way they look; don't you see: this is power, this is weakness, and this is the me I've overcome; call it ugly, call it whatever you want but this is strength and I only need one person to acknowledge this, and he does.

#46 - War

It's war that the straw-hats declared on the government and it's CP9 that takes the brunt of the attack; Lucci hasn't had a challenge like this in five years, and Kaku made it his duty to take out the swordsman so Lucci could have an enjoyable fight.

#47 - Water

It's strange, but Lucci gets claustrophic when he's out on deck, nothing but blue stretching out for miles and miles, but it's Kaku, a flash of orange, a grin and a challenge that distracts him until the blue turns to black and he can't see anything at all.

#48 - Welcome

Spandam welcomed them into CP9 and it was Lucci, who always caught on faster, that kicked his ass all the way to the finish line.

#49 - Winter

In Water7, Kaku is as friendly and sweet as he was born to be; at a word from Lucci, he puts up his wall made of ice and couldn't be happier.

#50 - Wood

Lucci's hands moving over his chest and stomach keep Kaku's mind from wandering too far, so he focuses instead on the rough bark of the tree chafing against his bare shoulders and the soft, purring voice in his ear.


End file.
